By MARA GAY
June 6, 2016
The agreements raise the amount of money received by employees who are injured on the job
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday his administration had reached disability pension agreements with three municipal unions, deals that raised the amount of money received by employees who are injured on the job.
In the most significant part of the deal, the de Blasio administration agreed to increase the award amount offered to more recently hired firefighters who are injured on duty to similar levels as those hired before 2009. Under the deal, which must be approved by lawmakers in Albany, the city will share the cost of providing disability pension benefits to the firefighters, contributing an extra $6.1 million in fiscal year 2017, and $12.6 million by fiscal year 2021. Firefighters will pay an additional 2% of their salary every year for the benefit.
The deal ends a years long battle by the Uniformed Firefighters Association, which argued it was unfair that recently hired firefighters received lower disability pension benefits.
“I’m satisfied,” Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy said in a brief phone interview Monday. “We think this is the best deal we could get.”
The de Blasio administration also announced agreements over disability pensions with the city’s sanitation workers.
Under that agreement, recently hired sanitation workers will fully fund the disability pension benefit themselves by contributing an extra 1.3% of their salaries. Because there is no contribution from the city, the deal doesn’t require state approval.
Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association Local 831 IBT, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening. He said in a statement released jointly with the mayor that he was pleased with the agreement.
The de Blasio administration reached a similar deal with the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, the union that represents employees who work in city jails.
Under that agreement, recently hired corrections workers will contribute .9% of their salaries to fully fund their disability pensions.
Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook said the work of his members was dangerous and should be compensated accordingly.
“Correction officers face incredible stress in their jobs. From abusive and violent inmates to out-of-control overtime, they and their families are forced to carry heavy burdens,” he said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. “We need to make sure that they never suffer financial hardship due to a workplace injury, and today’s agreement helps to do that.”
Mr. de Blasio said the agreements were fair.
“Protection of our workers is a top priority and productive collaboration with our uniformed workers has once again led to strong results,” he said in a statement.
One union that hadn’t reached an agreement with the administration over disability pension benefits was the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. The union, which represents thousands of New York Police Department officers, is in the midst of contentious contract negotiations with the city.
Union President Patrick Lynch, who has been sharply critical of Mr. de Blasio, accused the mayor of “playing politics with police officers who are injured protecting their city.”
Mr. Lynch said union officials had agreed to some employee contributions toward police officers’ disability pensions, but that their offer was turned down. He didn’t immediately return a request for comment and it was unclear what the offer was.
“Our members can not be made to pay more than their fair share to cover the mayor’s political debts. We will continue fighting in the City Council and in Albany, and we will not stop until we get this vital protection for our hard working members,” Mr. Lynch said in a statement.
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